CLA-2 CO:R:C:G: 085322 DPS
Ned H. Marshak, Esquire
Sharretts, Paley, Carter & Blauvelt, P.C.
Sixty-seven Broad Street
New York, N.Y. 10004
RE: Sitting Scarecrow Figure
Dear Mr. Marshak:
Your letter of July 26, 1989, on behalf of K mart
Corporation, to our New York office has been referred to this
office for reply concerning the tariff classification under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA), of a scarecrow figure to be imported from Taiwan. A
supplementary submission was made on January 10, 1990, and a
meeting was held on January 26, 1990, in which Mr. Duncan Nixon
of your office discussed issues relevant to this classification
decision with a member of my staff. You submitted further
information by letter dated February 12, 1990, concerning the
association of scarecrows with Halloween.
FACTS:
The submitted sample, code number 32-67-30, known as the
"Sitting Scarecrow," is a two piece item consisting of a
scarecrow and a wooden chair. The scarecrow is approximately 12
inches tall and is clothed in burlap and other textile materials.
The upper body is composed of a styrofoam ball attached to straw
covered wires that form the arms and legs. The wire arms and
legs bend to allow the scarecrow to be positioned in the
accompanying chair. The head is made of a styrofoam ball with a
burlap hat, straw hair, painted on facial features and a fabric
cone shaped nose.
ISSUE:
Whether the scarecrow figure is classifiable as a festive
article under Heading 9505?
LAW & ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) set forth the
legal framework in which merchandise is to be classified under
the HTSUSA. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined
first according to the terms of the tariff headings and any
relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required,
according to the remaining GRI's.
You assert that the subject merchandise is classifiable
under Heading 9505, HTSUSA, as a festive, carnival or other
entertainment article. Upon review of the tariff language of
Heading 9505, and the Explanatory Notes thereto, which
constitute the official interpretation of the tariff at the
international level, we agree. The Explanatory Notes to Heading
9505 state that the heading includes items considered to be
"other decorations...traditionally associated with a particular
festival." As we have stated in the past with regard to the
festive article heading, items classified there tend to possess
no function other than decoration.
Here, the subject scarecrow is so flimsily constructed that
it negates any use as a toy. The importer has indicated that the
scarecrows are sold in K mart's retail stores solely during the
two months preceding Halloween and are removed at the beginning
of November, immediately after the Halloween festival. The
importer's counsel has also established that scarecrows are, to
at least a minimal extent, associated with the Halloween
festival. The subject figures are intended to be used to
decorate during Halloween and are marketed as such. They are
sold in the same department within each K-mart store along with
other Halloween decorations. These facts support the conclusion
that the subject scarecrow figure is classifiable as a festive
article within Heading 9505.
HOLDING:
The subject scarecrow figure is properly classifiable as a
festive, carnival or other entertainment article, other,
under subheading 9505.90.6000, HTSUSA. Items classified under
this provision are subject to a duty rate of 3.1 percent ad
valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division